The Garage
by KaceyS
Summary: "You don't understand. I've never lied to my team before./ I've never thrown of a heist, ever./ I've never cheated a race./ I've never paid for my gear parts./ You've corrupted me./ ... So have you." related to; 'It's a Technician Thing'. review for more
1. Welcome to the Garage P1

**disclaimer: **Sonic belongs to Sega  
**details: **T: 16, W: 20, future fic, lacking big bad, terrible mechanic lingo  
**warning: **sex/drug references, possibly offensive, unchronological, possible AU, unreliable author, possible out of characterness, idk, more to come

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**The Garage**

_Welcome to The Garage P1_

The building itself looked rather ramshackled and out of date, bright red bricks crumbling against their unpredictable weather, a few broken windows splintering and refusing to close- held together with duct tape of all things, a black flaking, roughly painted garage door; thin and seemingly easily break-in-able.

Despite how many times Tails' had asked Shadow to update it's outward appearance, the owner refused, exercising his century old tactic of 'separating the real customers from the phonies', whatever that meant. Customers were customers, in Tails' opinion. Even though changing the face of their establishment would definitely have earned them a few extra customers, they weren't in dire need of them.

The Garage, so aptly named to give off an air of pretentious and arrogant mystery, lived up to it's name as the best workshop in all of Empire City, as far as The Underground populace were concerned. Anyone who knew anything about Extreme Gear came to this place first when in need of service. Their name was travelling by word of mouth two months after starting the auto shop, and they'd become the go-to spot for any mechanical problem. A combination of Shadow's allure and Tails' friendly, helpful nature kept the regular customers coming back and recommending to their pals. It also helped that young fans of Tails and Shadow's heroic exploits years ago begged their parents to come simply to listen to the fox tell stories while he worked on cars and other vehicles alike.

It was five o'clock, the sun was setting, and they were about to call it a day. Their last customer had been serviced and Shadow was sitting on the hood of a car, one leg crossed over the other with a stopwatch balancing in his gloveless palm. Tails was rushing through the motions of an old fashioned car tune up, checking oil, gas, breaks, wheels, mufflers, the lot. There was an abnormality Shadow had planted in the car for him to find and the young fox was determined to find it. He knew the clock was ticking, and seconds before time-up sounded Tails found that the master cylinder for the breaks was missing.

"Found it!" he cried triumphantly, grabbing a spare one in his tool box and shoving it into place. He needed more time to properly meld the piece into place, but the race was won. Furthermore, he couldn't believe Shadow had sawed off the cylinder just to add flair to a test.

Marine threw down her tools and pulled at her pigtails, "Dammit, I almost had it! I _just_ saw the empty fuel meter."

"Too bad, Drongo, Tails' beat you again," Shadow said monotonously, slipping off the hood and striding up to Marine to flick her forehead.

"Don't call me a drongo, you dirty mongrel. I almost had 'im this time," she waved her fist at Shadow vehemently, to which the hedgehog replied by flipping her the bird. Tails attempted to wipe oil from his cheek, laughing at the both of them light-heartedly. These were the two he spent the most time with these days, Marine being the newest addition to their crew, coming by after school to intern with the both of them.

"You're getting better, Marine. I'm sure you would have beaten me if I hadn't found the cylinder in time," he assured kindly, patting her shoulder and casting a venomous look at Shadow, "which someone conveniently decided to _saw_ off for his amusement."

"Go hard or go home," replied Shadow, without missing a beat.

"Speaking of home, would you mind if I changed in your room, Tails? I'm absolutely filthy," the raccoon replied, wiping her sullied hands on her worn blue overalls.

"You don't have to keep asking me, Marine. I said you can go up there whenever you want."

"Just don't go into my room," Shadow said.

"I don't _want_ to, you perv. There's all kinds of things 'm scared I'll find if I ever 'ave to go in there," Marine replied, pulling down the flesh of her right eye in a childish display of dominance. They might have only been a year apart, but Tails and Marine were leagues apart when it came to maturity. Shadow was always teasing Marine, riling her up because she responded to the taunts brilliantly in a way Tails used to, before he realised responding to such insults didn't get him anywhere.

"I'm just thinking about your safety, my dear. Wouldn't want you slipping on a condom wrapper." his half-lidded crimson eyes twinkled with mischief.

"Gross."

"Virgin."

Marine pinked up, body going stiff as her mind went blank. Tails tried to stop the laugh from escaping his mouth.

"Slut!" which was basically their base insult for the promiscuous hedgehog nowadays.

The put-out raccoon grabbed her gym bag and stormed up the steps to the second floor, which led to Shadow and Tails' apartment. The third story for the building was split into two rooms, Shadow's and Tails', marked out clearly by the large 'Stop' sign hanging in front of the hedgehog's door. Most of the time, Sonic hung around the apartment also, but he was never around long enough to claim more space than the front sofa whenever he unceremoniously dropped in to crash.

Tails stretched methodically, pulling up his jeans and scuffing his sneakers against the floor, wondering what to do next. It was the end of the week, and there were no commissions to be completed. Perhaps he had enough saved to perform the upgrades on his board he'd been putting off for a good few months. He made a few calls to some of his contacts, scheduling a meet up place. He changed his clothes, bid good bye to Marine, typed in Shadow's take out order, and picked up his gear by the entrance of the garage doors, setting off into the city.

He was cruising in between lanes, careful Extreme Gear riders given the same rights and regulations as normal motorcyclists, when the sounds of ringing sirens caught his attention. If he hadn't combined the screeching sound of tires and quick reflexes, he was sure he would have gotten run over by the car behind him. His board swerved and tilted, and he was too busy trying to right himself when another rider crashed into him.

In a flurry of limbs and a few possibly bruised bones he landed in a completely awkward position, but that didn't matter to the other rider who looped an arm around his neck and pressed something cold to his temple. He wondered absently, between the pain and the echoing sounds in his ears, if the rider was used to completely totalling on their board.

"Don't come any closer, or fox-boy here is a dead man!"

Surprise flooded Tails' face as the woman behind him hauled him up to stand in front of her, a shield between her body and the several policemen with their weapons aimed at him. Tails' heart raced, and for a second he forgot all the self defence his friends had drilled into him. What he felt was the sweat seeping through her violet feathers, and a large necklace that jabbed into the nape of his neck. His senses overwhelmed him with the familiar odour of metal rings, the high quality scent of MeteoTech Air Gear Polish, the taste of blood in his mouth, and the rasp of her voice.

His words were hoarse from near strangulation, "Wave?" but he was pretty sure the question reached her ears, loud and clear.

The fox shivered as he heard the swallow gasp, the press of the firearm faltering slightly.

"Tails?!"

**tbc.**

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**a/n: **Hi, my name is Kacey, but you can call me Kace. Please review, favourite and follow. I love all the things. **To those that know what an absolute ****_dick_**** I am;** I know I really need to be shot for all the time I change my username and make promises that I can't keep. I _know._ But despite that I will keep experimenting, and I am going to keep making mistakes. I won't promise any more, because I am the most unreliable person, but I won't stop writing. This is an UPDATE WHEN READY story, meaning new chapters will be sporadic, and unpredictable.  
**take note: **This story is being written as a companion piece/sequel/addition/prequel/continuation/alterna te universe piece to _It's a Technician Thing_. This can be read on it's own though.

Cheers.


	2. Welcome to the Garage P2

**details: **T: 16, W: 20, Empire City, future fic, not taking into account Sonic Universe  
**warning:** idk about gun law in your country, okay?

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**The Garage**

_Welcome to The Garage P2_

In a moment of complete astonishment, every smart remark and contemplative sentence he'd ever though of to use when encountered with someone he hadn't seen in a while, flew out the figurative window.

Instead, the garbled mess to writhe it's way up his throat sounded like, "I haven't seen you since Eggman's last grand prix."

"Excellent deduction, Sherlock, now duck and cover, I'm going to smoke these guys."

"What the-?! _No!_" Clearly not thinking properly, he wiggled an arm free and grabbed Wave's gun and forced it down with all of his might, the shot rocketing through his body as they made a hole in the cement.

Tails' expression was one of pure horror as he twisted in his captor's restraints, trying to look at her properly, somewhere in the back of his brain, he registered that she was wearing a mask, "You were _actually_ going to shoot someone?!"

"Prower, what the _fuck_ is wrong with you?!"

He heard her release some kind of groan in irritation, using some renewed strength to drag him backwards until he stumbled onto a floating platform. He wasn't stupid though, he recognised the familiar smooth metal, and the contours of the metal's shape. This was Wave's air ride, this form able to accommodate at least one and a half persons. It looked different from the last time he'd seen it, but he didn't have all that much time to examine Wave's masterpiece.

Bullets followed them like a trail of spark works, but Wave's steering and general control over her gear had greatly improved since the last time he'd seen her. He wished he had time to actually enjoy this experience, but he was too busy trying to hold on for dear life, and worrying about the state of his board. He'd be able to track it by GPS later, but it could be seriously damaged, or even stolen by then.

Her air gear surpassed anything the police could have come up with, even with their best mechanics (which, technically, was an offence in itself- most of the government became kind of pissed when you had spy wear and transport technology grades above their best issued machinery). A year ago, Shadow had been booked for having a customised Class 3 weapon on his person, habit left behind from the Black Arms invasion years before. Tails was personally against the weapons, but it wasn't like he had the patience or powers of persuasion to get the hedgehog to stop now.

Wave pulled into the slums of Empire City, driving straight into an alleyway and coming to a skidded stop. Tails followed her harsh movements, hopping off the gear and watching as it morphed back to a briefcase and into her waiting hands. The fox stood there stunned, completely amazed by the impeccably smoothed transition when Wave clicked, yell-whispering, "Hey, Shortie!" before making a come hither motion with her hands.

Tails tilted his head to the side, following her into the shady-looking building tentatively, watching in complete fascination as he pulled the mask away from her face so he could properly see her iridescent blue eyes. He tried to keep his eyes at the back of her head, but he couldn't help them sliding down to her swaying hips. She turned around and caught him staring, her lips curling at the corners into a smirk, "It's like you haven't seen a woman in months, Prower. Thought a world class mechanic like you would have all the tail you wanted, no pun intended."

The fox blushed the colour of ripe strawberries, scratching the nape of his neck as he concentrated on the walls of the building. He had absolutely no idea where he was going. He didn't like to venture into the slums very often, Shadow normally took care of those errands.

"Wave, where are you taking me?"

"I'm not going to molest you in this dirty alley, Fox-boy, don't worry about it."

"I-" the words caught in his throat as another wave of embarrassment washed over him, "That wasn't what I… It wasn't what I was assuming in the slightest!"

She scoffed, "Virgins."

Tails rubbed a hand down his face and heaved in a huge sigh, following Wave into a distressed looking apartment, another familiar face getting off the bed to greet them.

"Haha, Wave! We just saw you on the news! Wait-a get caught, you nimrod!" Storm hollered, guffawing like seeing yourself in a real live cop chase was a simple triviality, until Tails remembered that yes, this _was_, for the Babylon Rogues anyway. Wave sneered at him.

"And I see you've brought your hostage with you?" Jet, who was sitting on the windowsill, hopped off, hands on his hips as he looked Tails up and down. He didn't look impressed, nor happy to see him, and Tails wasn't surprised. Their last confrontation hadn't exactly been on good terms, after all they were fighting _with _The Armada for once. "What terrible timing to drag Sonic's sidekick into this."

Tails bristled, irritated at being downgraded to a sidekick. He thought he'd grown out of the role a long time ago, but occasionally someone brought up his fierce dependence on his older brother when he was younger.

"I'm not a sidekick," he growled.

"Not anymore, anyway," Wave replied snidely, sitting on the bed and crossing one leg over the other.

"What are you doing here? You can rob from anywhere, why come here?"

"Shut up, Short stuff," Wave replied snippily. "We've got our reasons for being here, none we are obligated to tell _you._"

Tails frowned, "Why not? Why did you drag me into your apartment if it didn't concern me?"

"Where else are we meant to put you?" Storm asked, and for a second, Tails was really confused. He hated feeling confused, it made him feel like he wasn't in control. When the calculations and variables didn't add up, that was when he felt the most uncomfortable.

"If we let you go, you're just going to run to the cops and tell them where we're hiding."

"Why are you hiding?" Tails demanded, crossly. He didn't deny that he wouldn't rat them out because that was the right thing to do. He got mad at Shadow when he jaywalked, or offered him liquor, how was he supposed to let stealing slide?

Storm turned to the side, avoiding his gaze while Jet placed a hand on his chin, thinking. Wave bit her lip and was the first to speak, "Listen…"

"Wave," Jet scolded, "'it's none of his business', remember?"

"But Jet, he's going to understand. Sonic helped you save Babylon Garden once, remember."

_Again with the comparisons to Sonic. I am not an extension of The Blue Blur. I am me._

"I could hear you out…" Tails said tentatively, rubbing one hand over the opposite elbow.

Wave and Storm both looked to Jet. So that hadn't changed. They might have been older, but they still hung onto Jet's every word. And they had the nerve to call _him_ a sidekick.

The hawk looked up, a squall in his eyes as he removed his hand from his chin, his words coming out slowly and carefully.

"The Key to Babylon has been stolen, and we're trying to steal it back."

**tbc.**

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**take note: **_The Garage_ doesn't take place in the same time continuum as _It's a Technician Thing. IaTT _ran on the same timeline, but segments of this story might not be placed in the same universe. Basically, you can connect them if you want to, but most of the arcs and one shots might take place in different continuities.

Cheers.


	3. Welcome to the Garage P3

**details: **T: 16, W: 20, Empire City, lines from _Tails' Luck_ by SkullFox

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**The Garage**

_Welcome to The Garage P3_

"So, who's got it?"

"… What?"

Tails rolled his eyes, crossing them over his chest, "You mean to tell me world-class thieves need to make the mistake of getting caught by the police, before figuring out where their target is?"

"We know where it is," Wave snapped, ice blue eyes narrowing. "It was in the building I tripped the alarm for."

"Well then why didn't you disable the alarm?" he said, trying to keep the annoying 'haha' tone out of his voice.

"Disabling the alarm would trip the main transmitter."

"You should have destroyed the receiver."

"The receiver would have exploded without a signal."

"Well then why didn't you rewire the transmitter into the receiver, so it would mistake it's own radio frequency for the transm-"

"Like I had enough _time_ to do that, Short stuff. Get out of my ass."

Tails faltered a bit with his response, "I was never... Whatever. Listen," he said, uncrossing his arms and placing them in his pockets. "In a few days, Shadow is probably going to get worried about me."

"In a few days?" Storm questioned. "Shouldn't he be looking for you now?"

"What can I say?" he shrugged with a slight laugh, "Shadow's not exactly winning 'Bro of the Year Award' any time soon. But yes- he's going to look for me, and he's not going to be happy that you're keeping me here."

"Too bad," Wave snapped.

"Hey," Tails reasoned, trying to keep his voice as low and reasonable-sounding as possible, "I _know_ The Key to Babylon belongs to you guys. I'm not going to bring you to the police for trying to get back what belongs to you."

"How are we meant to trust you?" Jet demanded, walking up to Tails until they were almost nose-to-beak.

Tails thought about it for a second, knocking his fist into the palm of his other hand, "I know. I'll show you were to get the technology to rewire that transmitter!"

"I can do it myself," Wave replied sourly.

"You just got into the city, how are you meant to know where the best dealers are?"

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It was to Wave's intense irritation that she ended up tagging along with Tails this Friday night. Empire was definitely the city that never slept, so it wasn't like they had to worry about closing time. The first thing they did was pass by The Police Station so that Tails could pick up his Extreme Gear.

"Oh god, why are we here?" Wave demanded.

"I've got to pick up my board," Tails replied with a note of irritation. "The one that you so knocked me off of, remember?"

"Hey, shut it. They have security cameras here!"

"Don't worry about it. Their systems are ancient, and can't pick up feed within five meters of the camera."

She raised an eyebrow, placing a hand on her hip, "How do you know that?"

"Shadow had to break in there once to retrieve some firearms from a cop that hates his guts," he said smoothly. He had to recite it to several people before; Sonic, Rouge. It was no big deal, but Wave looked a little suspicious of him, and how easily the words rolled off the tongue. "Just stay here okay?"

He walked in, coming up to the counter and saying, "Hello? I believe you're probably in custody of my Extreme Gear. A criminal knocked me off it this afternoon."

Before he could negotiate for the board, two bulky police officers appeared behind him. One of them said in a deep, authoritative voice, "Hello? Sir, we're going to need you to come with us."

Tails was sat at an office desk with one of the police officers, while the other went to fetch his board. "Is this going to take long?"

"Not if you're co-operative."

"Someone's waiting for me."

"This won't take long."

It took them ages to start talking; "Did you have any connection to the thief prior to the hostage situation?"

"No," he lied.

"Where did she take you after you escaped the pursuit of the police?"

"She dropped me off in an alleyway. I haven't seen her since."

"Do you have any idea what she was carrying in her bag?"

"No."

It was forty-five minutes later when they brought in his board, and he was infuriated with the police for keeping him this long.

"Wait a second there, lad," he said, holding the gear just within his reach. "You have to prove that it's really yours."

_You realise that normal people wouldn't be able to unlock their board with accessing the key code, or fingerprint recognition?_

"I'd rather enter in my password manually, if you don't mind," he said, trying to keep the bitterness out of his tone. They allowed him to unlock his board, which transformed from it's portable form into a board before their very eyes. "Can I leave now?"

"Yes…" he finished up some notes before looking up. "Yes, you can leave. But be careful, Mr Prower."

"Yeah, whatever…" he muttered under his breath. He rushed through the foyer and ran down the steps, but when he looked around, Wave was gone. He exhaled heavily and went back home.

When Tails went back to The Garage he trudged up the stairs, only to be met in the face with a pillow.

"Where's dinner?" Shadow demanded.

"Go to hell."

**tbc. **

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**kacey **Please remember that updates are sporadic and random. Someone make me swear on my tongue not to change usernames. I don't even know how many I've gone through in the past few years any more. Definitely too many.

**thanks **So much to Pura blaze, Mr Halfwright, Sturm and drang & Guest for reviewing the last chapter.

Cheers.


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